Article carrier

ABSTRACT

A basket style article carrier having medial and transverse partitions is formed from a single blank and is characterized by economy in the use of material, the carrier including a bottom wall, side walls joined to the side edges of the bottom wall, end wall panels joined to the end edges of the side walls, riser panels joined to the inner edges of the end wall panels at one end of the carrier and extending medially inward of the carrier, a riser panel joined to the inner edge of one end wall panel at the other end of the carrier and extending medially inward of the carrier, a pair of medial partition panels foldably joined in face contacting relationship one of which is foldably joined to the other end wall panel at the other end of the carrier and extending medially inward of the carrier, a multiple-ply handle including a pair of inner handle panels and a pair of outer handle panels secured to the upwardly extending ends of the riser panels and to one of the medial partition panels, a plurality of transverse partitions at least some of which are of a composite construction including a transverse partition tab as a component, a pair of nicks each connecting an outer handle panel to a transverse partition tab, and a longitudinal partition panel foldably joined to one of the medial partition panels and adhered to at least one of the riser panels at each end of the carrier.

United States Patent [1 1 Wood [ Nov. 4, 1975 [73] Assignee: The MeadCorporation, Dayton,

Ohio

22 Filed: July 22, 1974 211 Appl. No.: 491,153

[75] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl 206/187; 206/191 [51] Int. Cl. B65D 75/00 [58] Field ofSearch 206/170, 173, 175, 180, 206/187, 188, 191

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,084,831 4/1963 Arneson206/187 3,335,905 8/1967 Arneson 206/187 3,432,073 3/1969 Forrer 206/1883,572,544 3/1971 Forrer 206/187 3,672,539 6/1972 Forrer 206/188 X3,709,400 l/l973 Arneson... 206/187 3,724,714 4/1973 Wright 206/187Primary Examiner-William 1. Price Assistant ExaminerStephen MarcusAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Walter M. Rodgers [57] ABSTRACT A basket stylearticle carrier having medial and transverse partitions is formed from asingle blank and is characterized by economy in the use of material, thecarrier including a bottom wall, side walls joined to the side edges ofthe bottom wall, end wall panels joined to the end edges of the sidewalls, riser panels joined to the inner edges of the end wall panels atone end of the carrier and extending medially inward of the carrier, ariser panel joined to the inner edge of one end wall panel at the otherend of the carrier and extending medially inward of the carrier, a pairof medial partition panels foldably joined in face contactingrelationship one of which is foldably joined to the other end wall panelat the other end of the carrier and extending medially inward of thecarrier, a multiple-ply handle including a pair of inner handle panelsand a pair of outer ha dle panels secured to the up-.

wardly extending ends of the riser panels and to one of the medialpartition panels, a plurality of transverse partitions at least some ofwhich are of a composite construction including a transverse partitiontab as a component, a pair of nicks each connecting an outer handlepanel to a transverse partition tab, and a longitudinal partition panelfoldably joined to one of the medial partition panels and adhered to atleast one of the riser panels at each end of the carrier.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Shed 1 of 3 3,917,060

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of3 3,917,060

|=|s.3 FIG.5

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,917,060

ARTICLE CARRIER Article carriers are known in which one medial partitionpanel is foldably joined to an end wall panel at one end of a carrieralong with a second medial partition panel foldably joined in flat facecontacting relation with the first medial partition panel. It is alsoknown that a longitudinal partition panel may be positioned between twomedial partition panels and foldably joined to one of the medialpartition panels and also may be connected to the riser panels at theopposite end of the carrier. Although the longitudinal partition panelafi'ords bottle separation and serves to stengthen the carrier, suchcarriers are not adapted to rapid machine manipulation due to theentrapment of certain of the partition elements between the riser panelsduring folding and gluing operations.

By this invention a carrier is provided which is well adapted to machineproduction and according to one form of this invention, a basket stylearticle carrier having bottom, side and end walls, partition structureincluding a pair of face contacting medial partition panels one of whichis foldably joined to one end wall, a pair of riser panels at the end ofthe carrier opposite from the partition structure, a multiple-plyhandle, a longitudinal partition panel extending substantially thelength of the carrier and adjacent the bottom of the carrier isconstructed so that at least one transverse partition panel forms aportion of said one of said media] partition panels and so that thelength of said medial partition panel is less than the length of thecarrier by a distance at least as great as the width of the pair ofriser panels. In like fashion the inner edge of the other medialpartition panel is spaced from the adjacent end wall by a distance atleast as great as the adjacent riser panel when the carrier iscollapsed.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a set-upcarrier formed according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of ablank from which the carrier shown in FIG. 1 is formed; FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6and 7 depict intermediate stages through which the blank of FIG. 2 ismanipulated in order to form a complete and collapsed carrier as shownin FIG. 8.

In the drawings the numeral 1 represents a side wall of the carrier tothe bottom edge of which a glue flap 2 is foldably joined along foldline 3. End wall panel 4 is foldably joined to an end edge of side wall1 along fold line 5 while end wall panel 6 is foldably joined to theopposite end edge of side wall 1 along the fold line 7. Riser panel 8 isfoldably joined to end wall panel 4 along fold line 9 while medialpartition panel 10 is foldably joined to end wall panel 6 along foldline 11. Riser panel 8 and medial partition panel 10 are formed withlocking notches 8A and 10A respectively.

Inner handle panel 12 is foldably joined to riser panel 8 along foldline 9A while outer handle panel 13 is foldably joined to medialpartition panel 10 along fold line 11. Hand gripping apertures 14 and 15are formed in handle panels 12 and 13 respectively.

On the other side of the blank inner handle panel 16 is foldably joinedto inner handle panel 12 along medial fold line 17 while outer handlepanel 18 is foldably joined to outer handle panel 13 along medial foldline 19. Hand gripping apertures 20 and 21 are formed in handle panels16 and 18 respectively. Riser panel 22 is foldably joined to innerhandle panel 16 along fold line 24A and is provided with locking notch22A. End wall panel 23 is foldably joined to riser panel 22 along foldline 24. Side wall 25 is joined to end wall panel 23 along fold line 26and end wall panel 27 is foldably joined to side wall 25 along fold line28. Riser panel 29 is foldably joined to both outer handle panel 18 andto end wall panel 27 along fold line 30. Locking notch 29A is formed inriser panel 29.

The bottom of the carrier includes a bottom wall 31 which is foldablyjoined to side wall 25 along fold line 32 and includes a medial foldline 33.

For strengthening the carrier and for providing medial separationbetween the articles, partition structure is provided and includesmedial partition panel 10. Formed in medial partition panel 10 aretransverse partition panels 34, 35 and 36. Transverse partition panel 34is joined to media] partition panel 10 along fold line 37 and transversepartition panel 35 is foldably joined to medial partition panel 10 alongvertically coincidental fold lines 38 and 39. In like manner, transversepartition panel 36 is foldably joined to medial partition panel 10 alongvertically coincidental fold lines 40 and 41. Anchoring flaps 42 and 43are joined to transverse partition panels 34 and 35 along fold lines 44and 45 respectively.

Also included in the carrier partition structure is media] partitionpanel 46 which is foldably joined to medial partition panel 10 alongfold line 47. Similar to medial partition panel 10, medial partitionpanel 46 is provided with transverse partition panels 48, 49 and 50.Specifically transverse partition panel 48 is foldably joined to medialpartition panel 46 along fold line 51 while transverse partition panel49 is joined to medial partition panel 46 along vertically coincidentalfold lines 52 and 53. Transverse partition panel 50 is joined to medialpartition panel 46 along vertically coincidental fold lines 54 and 55.Transverse partition panels 48 and 49 are provided with anchoring flaps56 and 57 which are foldably joined thereto along fold lines 58 and 59respectively. Additionally auxiliary flap 60 is struck from medialpartition panel 46.

Another major element of the partition structure comprises longitudinalpartition panel 61 which is foldably joined to media] partition panel 10along fold line 62 and which extends beyond the free ends of transversepartition panels 36 and 50.

It will be noted that transverse partition panels 36 and 50 are of awidth less than the distance between the handle structure and the sidewalls in the assembled carrier. In order to anchor the transversepartition panels 36 and 50 to their respective side walls, transversepartition tabs 63 and 64 are provided and are folded along fold lines 65and 66 respectively and constitute parts of the composite partitions. Toform portions of composite transverse partitions, transverse partitiontabs 63 and 64 are folded along fold lines 65 and 66 respectively toanchoring flaps 67 and 68. Anchoring flaps 67 and 68 are joined to sidewalls 1 and 25 along fold lines 69 and 70 respectively.

To facilitate a smooth folding operation, nick 71 provides a connectionbetween transverse partition tab 63 and outer handle panel 13. Similarlynick 72 provides a connection between transverse partition tab 64 andouter handle panel 18.

In order to form a completed carrier from the blank shown in FIG. 2, anapplication of glue is first made to the anchoring flaps 67 and 68 andto the adjacent portions of the side walls as shown by stippling in FIG.2. Thereafter anchoring flaps 67 and 68 are elevated and folded alongtheir respective fold lines 69 and 70 into positions of flat facecontacting relation with the inner surfaces of side walls 1 and 25respectively. This folding operation of course causes the transversepartition tabs 63 and 64 to fold into generally flat face contactingrelation with their associated side walls 1 and 25. Upon completion ofthis folding operation these parts occupy the positions depicted in FIG.3 which is a fragmentary view of the center portion of the blank of FIG.2.

Thereafter an application of glue is made to the riser panels 8 and 22and to all the handle panels 12, 13, 16 and 18 as indicated by stipplingin FIG. 2. Following this application of glue, the end wall panels 4 and23 are elevated and folded toward the right along fold lines 5 and 26.Simultaneously handle panels 12 and 16 are folded along fold lines 9Aand 24A and when this folding operation is completed the blank appearsas shown in FIG. 4 with the inner handle panels 12 and 16 adhered to theinner surfaces of outer handle panels 13 and 18 and with the riserpanels 8 and 22 secured to the inner surfaces of inner handle panels 12and 16 respectively.

With the parts in the positions shown in FIG. 4, longitudinal partitionpanel 61 is folded downwardly along fold line 62 into flat facecontacting relationship with medial partition panel as indicated byarrow 73 in FIG. 5.

Thereafter an application of glue is made to the inner surfaces ofhandle panels 12, 13 and 18, transverse par tition tab 63, riser panels8 and 29, medial partition panel 10, transverse partition panel 36,anchoring flaps 42 and 43, side wall 1, and auxiliary flap 60 asindicated by stippling in FIG. 4. Then medial partition panel 10 andriser panel 29 are elevated and folded toward the left along fold lines11 and 30 respectively and when this folding operation is completed theparts appear as depicted in FIG. 6. The medial partition panel 10 isthus secured to the handle panels 12 and 13. Also anchoring flaps 42 and43 are adhered to side wall 1, transverse partition panel 36 is adheredto transverse partition tab 63, and auxiliary flap 60 is adhered toriser panel 8 and to handle panel 12.

Then an application of glue is made to medial partition panels 10 and46, and to longitudinal partition panel 61 as indicated by stippling inFIG. 6 and medial partition panel 46 is elevated and folded along foldline 47 thereby becoming secured to medial partition panel 10 andlongitudinal partition panel 61 as shown in FIG. 7.

Thereafter the bottom panel 31 is folded along its medial fold line 33.An application of glue is then applied to the blank as shown in FIG. 7by stippling. More specifically glue is applied to riser panels 8, 22and 29, transverse partition tab 64, the inner surfaces of handle panels12 and 16, longitudinal partition panel 61, anchoring flaps 56 and 57,auxiliary flap 60, medial partition panels 10 and 46, side wall 25, andglue flap 2. Then the portions of the blank disposed above the fold line17 as viewed for example in FIG. 7 are elevated and folded into theposition depicted in FIG. 8 which represents the completed carrier incollapsed condition.

From FIG. 6, it is apparent that the edge 36A of transverse partitionpanel 36 is spaced slightly from the edge 8A of riser panel 8. From FIG.7, it is apparent that edge 50A of transverse partition panel 50 is alsospaced a short distance from edge 8A of riser panel 8. Edges 36A and 50Aalso are spaced slightly from edge 22A of riser panel 22. By thisarrangement transverse partition panels are free to swing intoperpendicular relation to the handle, riser panels and side walls whenthe carrier is set up. This relationship is possible due to the shortwidth and composite nature of panels 36 and 50. Stated otherwise thelength of medial partition panel 10 including panel 36 is less than thelength of side wall 1 by a distance at least as great as the width ofriser panel 8 and the inner edge 50A of medial partition panel 46 isspaced from the end wall panels 4 and 23 by a distance at least as greatas the width of riser panel 22 when the carrier is collapsed.

In order to set the carrier up from its collapsed condition shown inFIG. 8 into the set-up condition shown in FIG. 1, it is simply necessaryto secure the side walls 1 and 25 against movement toward the left andtoapply a force toward the left to the medial edges of end wall panels 6and 27. "Ihis expands the carrier and moves the side wallsapart.Simultaneously the bottom Wall 31 folds into a flat plane. The carrieris maintained in setup condition by cooperation between the locking.notches made up of notches 8A, 22A, 10A and 29A and the ends of bottomwall 31. The carrier then appears as shown in FIG. 1.

Therefore by this invention an article carrierhaving a medial partitionpanel is adapted to be manipulated on modern high speed machinery asopposed to manual folding and gluing which has been necessary inconnection with known article carriers. The essence of this inventionembodies an article carrier having at least one of its transversepartition panels on each side of the handle formed so that its width isless than the distance between the handle and one side wall and being ofcomposite construction. This allows the medial partition panels such as10 and 46 to be folded during the various stages of manufacture of thecarrier without overlap between the extreme inner edge of a medialpartition panel and its corresponding riser panel either 8 or 22. Whilethe embodiment described in detail above shows a portion of thecomposite transverse par: tition forming an end of the medial partitionpanel, this element of the transverse partition structure along with theother element constituting the composite structure I may form any one ofthe transverse partitions. In addition both elements of the compositestructuremay be struck from the area of the handle.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclu sive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An article carrier blank comprising a bottom wall, a first side wallfoldably joined to a side edge of said bottom wall, a first pair of endwall panels foldablyi joined respectively to the end edges of said firstside wall, a pair of riser panels foldably joined respectively to saidfirst pair of end wall panels along the edges thereof remote from saidfirst side wall, a first pair of handle panels foldably joinedrespectively to said pair of riser panels, a second pair of handlepanels foldably joined respectively to the top edges of said first pair.of

handle panels, a third riser panel foldably joined to one i of saidsecond pair of handle panels along an end edge thereof, a third end wallpanel foldably joined to said third riser panel along the inner edgethereof, a second side wall foldably joined to said third end wall panelalong an edge thereof remote from said third riser panel, a fourth endwall panel foldably joined to said second side wall remote from saidthird end wall panel, a first medial partition panel foldably joined tosaid fourth end wall panel along an edge thereof remote from said secondside wall and including at least one transverse partition panel strucktherefrom, and a secand medial partition panel having at least onetransverse partition panel struck therefrom and being foldably joined tosaid first medial partition panel along the top edge thereof anddisposed alongside but detached from the adjacent one of said pair ofriser panels, the longitudinal dimension of each of said medialpartition panels plus the longitudinal dimension of the complepanels.

1. An article carrier blank comprising a bottom wall, a first side wallfoldably joined to a side edge of said bottom wall, a first pair of endwall panels foldably joined respectively to the end edges of said firstside wall, a pair of riser panels foldably joined respectively to saidfirst pair of end wall panels along the edges thereof remote from saidfirst side wall, a first pair of handle panels foldably joinedrespectively to said pair of riser panels, a second pair of handlepanels foldably joined respectively to the top edges of said first pairof handle panels, a third riser panel foldably joined to one of saidsecond pair of handle panels along an end Edge thereof, a third end wallpanel foldably joined to said third riser panel along the inner edgethereof, a second side wall foldably joined to said third end wall panelalong an edge thereof remote from said third riser panel, a fourth endwall panel foldably joined to said second side wall remote from saidthird end wall panel, a first medial partition panel foldably joined tosaid fourth end wall panel along an edge thereof remote from said secondside wall and including at least one transverse partition panel strucktherefrom, and a second medial partition panel having at least onetransverse partition panel struck therefrom and being foldably joined tosaid first medial partition panel along the top edge thereof anddisposed alongside but detached from the adjacent one of said pair ofriser panels, the longitudinal dimension of each of said medialpartition panels plus the longitudinal dimension of the complementaryportion of the corresponding riser panels being no greater than thelongitudinal dimension of a side wall, and the free end portions of saidmedial partition panels respectively forming substantially identicaltransverse partition panels.
 2. An article carrier blank according toclaim 1 wherein a longitudinal partition panel is foldably joined tosaid first medial partition panel along a bottom edge thereof, the freeend of said longitudinal partition panel extending beyond the free endsof said medial partition panels.